Saturday, April 22, 2006

The Household Level Ecological Footprint

Classes at Tufts end next week. I am ready for summer time. I need the peace and quiet to write 6 different papers that I had thought i would have finished by now. I have fallen so far behind on my tasks that I've stopped blogging for weeks now. I'm sure you've noted my absence!

I was going to write an entry on what factors determine whether an ambitious economics department moves up in the "rankings" and enters the top 20 or top 10. As I sat down and thought about the topic, I realized that I didn't have that much new to say on the topic. Some schools up, some schools move down but most schools stay ranked about the same. What interests me here is the co-location problem (that favors schools in big cities), and the rising demand for amenities (that favors California schools). To my surprise, many public universities have continued to compete well against private schools even as pay for superstars has soared.

With earth day approaching, I thought I'd point everyone to this site for you to have your own private "minute of shame"

3 comments
:

Like all conclusion driven social engineering agendas the ecological footprint analysis contains some serious errors. The biggest being any potential benefits of using public transportation. There is just no serious evidence that in the US at least that transit has any social or environmental value.

I like, Robt, how you can dismiss evidence that doesn't resonate with your worldview by using 'serious'. It's enjoyable, really.

Of course, the technique has been overused lately by the ideologue pundit class in their defense of Dear Leader, but still.

Anyway:

There is just no serious evidence that in the US at least that transit has any social or environmental value.

Can you haul out of your treasure trove of nonserious evidence numbers on New York? Surely in your copious perusal of serious scholarly literature you have some comparative analyses of, oh, say, New Yorker's average gasoline usage? Or maybe their average commute time to CBD vs, oh, say, LA's CBD [when I lived in Sacramento, I was envious of LA because it was much easier to spell]?

See, less gas usage means less of the particulatey stuff in the air. And shorter commute times means more snugglin' time with your shmoopy. Violà! Social and virnmintul benefits!

Oh, I know you want to sit astride your free-market steed, gazing out of your shiny armor with your steely-eyed gaze while clutching your soiled copy of Atlas Shrugged in order to save us all from ourselves, but really Bobby. Bring some facts when trying to convince the poor rubes.